What Does It Mean To Be An Independent Voter In Texas?

Independent voters outnumber those who call themselves Democrats or Republicans. But what, exactly, is an independent voter? And what sort of influence, if any, do independents really have in Texas?

KUHF

A recent Gallup survey found 40 percent of voters nationwide claim to be independent. That's several points higher than those who identify as staunch Democrats or Republicans. Linda Wilson is among those independents.

"I've always considered voting a straight-party ticket to be pretty lazy."

The 52-year-old Houston paralegal describes her independence in terms that may sound familiar.

"I'm pro-life, so the Democrats, even if I like them, kinda put me in a box."

Jensen says Democrats appeal to her concerns over labor and the environment. But the one issue of abortion makes her lean more toward the GOP. However, that doesn't mean she supports Governor Romney.

"Romney bothers me a lot. I don't think he's got a heart for working people. And he's more prone to send jobs overseas to make another buck for himself. And that dismissive '47 percent' really turned me off."

Jensen says she's voting for Ron Paul as a write-in candidate.

Voters like her may wear the label independent. But one Houston political expert has another name for it — disaffected partisan.

"You disagree with your party on this issue, which is of the most primary concern to you. And that is why you are, right now, a disaffected Democrat."

Jon Taylor chairs the Political Science department at University of St. Thomas. He says Texas isn't a swing state, so being an independent voter doesn't amount to much.

"We don't see wild fluctuations of voter support for either the Republicans or Democrats. You're seeing consistent support. If you look at statewide totals for any given statewide race, it's roughly about a 55-45 Republican split, somewhere in there. That suggests what independent voters are there tend to break Republican, at least a majority of them do."

Taylor says independent voters won't begin to gain traction in Texas until a truly independent candidate, who is entirely self-financed, manages to do well in a statewide election — either for governor or senate. But he doesn't think that'll happen anytime this decade.

While the CRP notes that direct spending on the presidential election is actually down slightly from 2008 (going from $2.8 million last cycle to an estimated $2.6 million), spending by congressional candidates is up, as is the wave of Super PAC spending and advocacy advertisements funded in the wake of the Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” decision allowing corporate contributions.

“What remains unknown – and may never fully be accounted for – is how much money secretive ‘shadow money’ organizations spent, with some investing massive sums on ads, but also on unreported and purportedly ‘non-political’ activities, as the election neared,” the CRP writes.

Election Day is here and hundreds of thousands are expected to head to the polls in Travis County. More than 237,000 Travis County voters cast a ballot during early voting—that's a little over 37 percent of registered voters. Traditional voting patterns show that half of registered voters don't vote until Election Day.

More Texans than ever before are registered to vote in this election—13.64 million people. Presidential elections typically bring more voters to the polls. In 2008, more than 402,000 Travis County residents voted in the presidential election.

Here are six things you should know if you're headed to the polls today:

1. Registered Travis County Voters Can Vote Anywhere in the County:

For this election, Travis County Commissioners approved vote centers. That means registered voters can forget about their precincts and cast a ballot anywhere in the county with a 'vote here' sign. These places include schools and libraries along with locations used for early voting such as grocery stores.